The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

Jonquel Jones and the New York Liberty wrapped up one of their best regular seasons in franchise history and will now battle against the seventh-seeded Washington Mystics tonight to start their postseason run.

The New York team ended the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) regular season with a franchise best 32-8 win/loss record. Jones’ team concluded their season atop the Eastern Conference and was second in the overall league. The 32-8 regular season team is now set to face off against the Mystics, who they are tied 2-2 with in the season series, tonight at the Barclays Center.

One of masterminds behind the successful Liberty season is none other than Johnathan Kolb, the team’s general manager. Kolb was recently awarded the 2023 WNBA Executive of the Year after putting together a formidable women’s roster.

In the offseason Kolb acquired Grand Bahamian Jones from the Connecticut Sun in a three-team deal that also involved the Dallas Wings. Following the multi-team deal, former 2018 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart and All-Star Courtney Vandersloot joined the star studded roster.

The acquisitions were pivotal to the Liberty’s success this season. Stewart was a bright spot for the team. She was most recently selected as the 2023 Associated Press player of the year. The forward finished second in the league in scoring with 23 points per game (ppg) and dropped more than 40 points on four separate occasions.

Vandersloot was key to the team’s ball movement and was awarded the 2023 WNBA Peak Performer Award in Assists for the seventh time in her career. She averaged 8.1 assists per game.

The former WNBA MVP Jones’ averages took a slight dip this season but she was also integral to the team’s overall success. She pumped in 11.3 ppg, 8.4 rebounds, and shot 52.7 percent for the season.

Despite the individual successes of New York’s newest acquisitions, the team collected accolades as a unit as well. The Liberty earned bragging rights after their team won the Commissioner’s Cup in-season tournament over long-time rivals and last season’s winners Las Vegas Aces. The 32-8 team not only defeated the Aces 82-63 but Jones also took home the MVP honours in the win.

The Aces are considered the WNBA championship favourites after ending the regular season with a league’s best 34-6 win/loss record. As the league’s second best team, the Liberty split their four games 2-2 against the defending champions. Despite neither team gaining an outright advantage in the rivalry, the Aces are vying to two-peat as champions to join the 2001-2002 Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA history books.

Meanwhile, Jones and the Liberty are on a quest to bring home the franchise’s first WNBA title in their 26 years of existence.

With both the Aces and Liberty expected to clash in the finals, Jones’ team will look to handle business against the Mystics starting tonight.

Despite finishing with a 19-21 record, the Mystics ended the Liberty’s eight game winning streak to leave the Eastern Conference team with a 8-2 record in the final ten games of the regular season.

The game gets underway at 7.30pm.